Happy Memorial Day

The kids and I spent our Memorial Day where so many brave soldiers fought for our independence in the Revolutionary War. We went to the waterfront in downtown Yorktown. Our first stop was Victory Monument. Although you can't see her in the picture (I didn't want to get too far away from the kids), Lady Victory is a younger sister to the Statue of Liberty.

After leaving the monument, we drove down to the waterfront, and I loaded the kids into the double stroller. I thought that Memorial Day sounded like a good day to let Trenton have his own ice cream cone for the first time, so we stopped in Ben & Jerry's. I ordered a cup of lemonade sorbet, and Trenton got a kid's size vanilla cone. He wouldn't take the ice cream cone from me! He wanted to use a spoon to eat his ice cream like Mommy! Not only did he want to use a spoon, he wasn't a big fan of the ice cream either. It's a good thing Mommy didn't mind helping him out! Once we finished all of the ice cream, Trenton loved eating the cone!

The Tall Ship Peacemaker was moored on the pier. They were giving free tours, but there was no way for me to fit the double stroller on board. I couldn't really hold both kids to take the tour either. We did manage a picture in front of the ship though!

On our way back to the car, we happened upon a conversation between General Washington and Admiral De Grasse. The kids looked really interested in what they were saying!

We hope all of you had a wonderful Memorial Day!

Fun Times in Texas

We had a wonderful two week stay in Texas.

Charlotte got to meet a lot of new people.
Trenton got to catch up with some familiar faces.
Mommy got to eat the crawfish that she had been craving.
Mimi got to sleep in her own bed for the first time in two and a half months.
Pops had to share the bed for the first time in two and a half months.
PawPaw drove through the wind and rain to meet his newest grand-daughter and to visit with his youngest grandson.
Nana found a new quilt shop where they have all kinds of cute ideas for things she can make for all her grandkids (and herself).
Nanny got an exercise partner (Trenton).
WaWa got a watermelon eating partner (Trenton).
Uncle Bradley has a new girl in his life (Charlotte), and she has him wrapped around her little finger.
Aunt Courtney doesn't mind that Uncle Bradley has another girl in his life.

Thanks to our family and friends. We enjoyed seeing all of you. You made our trip a memorable one! To all of those that we weren't able to catch up with on this trip - we hope to see you when we come back again in August!

Texas Trip - May 2010

Oh, and for those of you wondering how the flight back to Virginia went with me by myself with the two kids...I am very thankful that I had a nice lady sitting across the aisle from me who offered to hold a sleeping Charlotte while I wrangled a feisty little boy who finally fell asleep thirty minutes before we landed. Our flight took off at Trenton's normal naptime, so you parents out there can probably imagine what he was like when he didn't go to sleep until two and a half hours after take-off! Also a great big thank you to my friend Christina and her son David who met us at the airport to help us get the bags out to the car!

Flying the Friendly Skies

We are back in Texas for a few weeks! Flying back with two kids was quite an adventure!

Mom and I woke up at 2am yesterday morning (after going to sleep around 11:30) to get all of our last minute things packed and to load the car. I got Charlotte up around 2:45 to get her fed before we left. We waited until we had everything loaded before we got Trenton up. We took him out of his bed and put him straight in the car thinking that he would fall right back to sleep. Wrong! We got to the airport in Norfolk at 3:40, and he was still wide awake!

We got checked in, and then it was off to go through security. I told Mom to go through first and I would get both kids since I will be flying back to Virginia with them on my own. The security people at Norfolk were extremely nice and helpful. They let me keep Charlotte in her pack and they loaded my stuff onto the conveyor belt for me. We made it to our gate around 4:30 and Trenton was still awake. Charlotte was sleeping soundly in her pack but woke up about 10 minutes before we started boarding. Mom took her while I got everything ready to board.

Trenton was a big boy and got his own seat on the plane! He was so excited! I was planning on taking Charlotte back from Mom and feeding her as we were taking off to help her ears, but she was already back asleep by then. Trenton on the other hand was still wide awake when we took off at 5:45. He ate cheerios on the way up and had no problems with his ears.

Charlotte woke up a hungry girl about 30 minutes into the flight. I fed her and then grabbed a diaper, wipes, and a changing pad and headed back to the restroom to change her diaper. It wasn't until I got her undressed and her dirty diaper off that I realized I had accidentally pulled one of Trenton's old size 3 diapers out of the bag! I couldn't carry her through the plane bare bottomed, so I just put the diaper on her. It came halfway up her chest! Since it's very awkward to change a baby on a plane, I decided to chance it and leave Charlotte in the huge diaper.

Charlotte fell asleep soon after we got back to our seat, and Trenton wasn't too far behind. Charlotte managed to stay asleep for the rest of the flight. Her brother only slept for about 45 minutes though. I think he just knew that if he woke up he could have more Cheerios while the plane descended.


Dad met us at baggage claim. Boy was he excited to see Mom again! He had already gotten all of our bags by the time we got down there, so we were ready to go. We made a potty stop (where I was stunned that Charlotte hadn't leaked ANY!), and then headed to the car and down to Hillje with a full load of tired passengers.

The kids were wonderful on the flight. I just hope that they are that good on our return flight when it's just the three of us!

Charlotte's Two Month Check-up

Since we are leaving for Texas later this week, I had Charlotte's 2-month check-up done a little early. She doesn't actually turn 2 months old until next Tuesday. At Charlotte's two week appointment, the doctor told me not to expect Charlotte to be above the 10th percentile in any of her measurements until she's at least six months old. Well, Miss Chunky Monkey proved the doctor wrong. She weighed in at 9 pounds, 1 ounce, putting her in the 16th percentile for weight! She was 20 3/4 inches long which puts her in the 7th percentile for height. Charlotte's little head has grown a lot since her last appointment too. At two weeks she was in the .1 percentile for head circumference. Today her head was in the 5th percentile. The doctor said that Charlotte is looking great. We happen to agree with her!!!

Fun With Friends

We were able to get together one last time with the Federico family before they move on to Boston. Amy and the kids came over one day last week after Trenton's nap, and the boys had some fun in the backyard. Greg came by after he got off work, and we had a great dinner that my mom made - yummy chicken spaghetti! It was great to get to spend a little more time with our wonderful friends before they move. We hope to get up to Boston to visit them soon!

Fun with Friends

My Little Model

The photographer that I used for Charlotte and Trenton's recent photos contacted me last week about bringing Charlotte in to model some new photo props for her. She said that she would photograph Charlotte and send me the digital images for free! I took Charlotte in this morning for the pictures, and they are so cute!

Photographs by Purple Owl Photography
Crocheted Items by Desert Diamond Crochet

Bear Hat & Cocoon

Frog Prince Cap & Cocoon - Charlotte is a cutie even dressed like a boy!

Cupcake Cap

Rose Cap

Another Rose Cap

Girl Sock Monkey Cap

Pool Time

It has been HOT here this weekend! What better way to spend a hot afternoon than splashing around in the splash pool?!?! Charlotte has a swimsuit, so she even dipped her feet in the water. Trenton had a blast running around through the sprinklers and trying to drink the water. We ended our pool time with baths. I took Charlotte inside for her bath in the kitchen sink, and I watched through the window as Mom chased Trenton around the yard with the water hose for his shower. I think I definitely got the easier bath time duty!

Pool Time

Little Miss Smiley

We were finally able to catch Charlotte's pretty little smile on camera this morning!